Constantine had decided, after his defeat of Licinius at Chrysopolis, to make nearby Byzantium his capital, and within three weeks of his victory, the foundation rites of New Rome had been performed.

Immediately upon his return from the West, he had begun to rebuild the city on a greatly enlarged pattern, as his permanent capital and the “second Rome.”

The dedication of Constantinople on May 11, 330, confirms the divorce, which has been in the making for more than a century, between the emperors and Rome.

Constantine's interest in church building is expressed also at Constantinople, particularly in churches of the Holy Wisdom (the original Hagia Sophia) and of the Apostles.